Thursday, April 28, 2011

MONTREAL - Get your vinyl records out and your turntable warmed up – you’re going back to school.

With big reputable annual techno events like this past weekend’s Bal en Blanc bringing tourism dollars to Montreal and fuelling the city’s profitable after hours scene, it was clear for Peet Bernard, better known as DJ Peet AnimA, that the next step was to tap into people wanting to become professional DJs. A look at the city’s only operational DJ school.

one of the most comprehensive digesting of a simple picture i have ever seen, read this story and check out the details...amazing

The Complete ‘Abbey Road’ Sessions Exhibition

By Guy White

A small but perfectly formed exhibition showcasing photographer, Iain MacMillan's, snaps from the iconic Beatles' shoot.

I’ve often wondered how you get to be immortalised on the cover of a classic album, without being in the band. Paul Cole did it. He was an American tourist who happened to be on vacation in London. On 8 August 1969, as he walked around the streets of St John’s Wood waiting for his wife, he stumbled across four guys being photographed on a zebra crossing. He watched for a while as they went there and back again. And again. And one more time. And that was it. Without knowing it at the time, that’s how he came to be captured for posterity on one of the most famous photographs of all time – the cover of the Beatles’ Abbey Road LP, standing to the left of John Lennon’s head on the album sleeve. But, as a new exhibition reveals, he might so easily not have been on the cover. ‘Beatles and Bystanders: the Abbey Road sessions’ on show at Snap Galleries’ Piccadilly space in central London, uncovers, for the ﬁrst time, at least a dozen other characters who might equally have featured on the cover of one of the most important albums in the history of popular music, if a different frame had been chosen for the album sleeve.

Scottish photographer Iain MacMillan (1938-2006) was the man behind the camera. He took just six photographs that day...........

While our society has begun to fully enter the digital content stage, it's good to get a reminder of what the world was like before the Internet existed. Over Easter vacation, I opted to stay with a good friend of mine in Orange County rather than make the tedious journey back to the east coast. As an avid music fan herself, my friend suggested that we visit a record store in Laguna Beach called the Sound Spectrum.

Now, if you have not listened to my USDRadio program, read any of my previous columns or met me in person, you probably do not understand my deep seeded and, honestly, pretty extreme love of music. When I walked into the Sound Spectrum, I felt like I was in heaven.

In his short-lived but extraordinary life, Buddy Holly left behind a body of work so enthralling, his enduring influence is nearly impossible to overstate. The melodic joy and fierce independent streak at the core of his artistry is profoundly felt on Rave On Buddy Holly, a 19-song collection of indelible Holly covers by a rich assemblage of current musical visionaries and creative kindred spirits. Fantasy/Concord will release Rave On Buddy Holly June 28th, 2011.

Rave On Buddy Holly steers clear of the reverent re-creations typically found on similar projects; the artists clearly felt free to explore radically new interpretations. Florence + The Machine bring an industrial New Orleans vibe to “Not Fade Away” (with help from Bayou icon Ivan Neville on keys). The Black Keys’ elemental accompaniment touches the emotional core of “Dearest” while Modest Mouse takes “That’ll Be the Day” into truly avant-garde territory. Cee Lo Green’s exquisite vocals, for example, echo among handclaps and percussion on his epic reading of “Baby, You’re So Square.” Paul McCartney’s take on the originally lilting “It’s So Easy” is a raw, propulsive excursion filled with boisterous spoken ad-libs. Lou Reed lays down a blazing “Peggy Sue,” replete with overdriven guitars and loopy keyboards. The romantic underpinnings of Holly’s music are cleverly revealed in Rave On’s multiple male-female pairings: Apple and Brion, Reed, Elson and (husband/producer) Jack White and She & Him.

Known for his work with such directors as Martin Scorsese, Wes Anderson and Todd Haynes, esteemed film-music supervisor Randall Poster was sought out to produce and oversee the project. “As the tracks from various contributors were gathered for the album,” explains Poster “we seemed to be gathering pieces of a complex and original puzzle … that traces back to the roots of rock and roll and shapes so much of the music that followed.”

Poster gives special recognition to producing partner Geyla Robb and her overall influence on Rave On’s exceptional blend of tender toughness. Poster also credits the album’s richness to the various track producers, such as Matt Sweeney, Joe Henry, Jack White and C.C. Adcock.

A true pop pioneer whose astonishing tunes boasted rock ‘n’ roll punch, irresistible hooks and boundary-pushing sonic sweep, Buddy Holly would be 75-years-old on September 7th of this year. Sadly, of course, he died in 1959 at age 22. But Holly’s music never died, and has exerted a profound influence on virtually every part of the pop music soundscape. His sparkling hooks, tender lyrics and elegantly concise compositions set the bar for all the rock, country and pop tunesmiths who followed in his brilliant wake. A bold affirmation that proves his music, on the eve of his 75th birthday, is more relevant than ever, Rave On Buddy Holly tips its collective hat with love and appreciation.

Paul McCartney is preparing to reissue his solo debut, 1970’s McCartney, and his 1980 LP McCartney II in special remastered deluxe editions. The albums are scheduled to be available on June 13 and were remastered at Abbey Road Studios by the same team that worked on 2009’s Beatles reissues.

McCartney will feature seven bonus tracks, including live performances and outtakes, on a bonus CD. A deluxe edition will add a DVD (with a behind-the-scenes look at the album and live footage) and a 128-page booklet with rare photos taken by Paul and his late wife Linda.

McCartney II will feature eight bonus tracks on a bonus CD with live and alternate versions. A deluxe edition will add another CD and a DVD with music videos. It also will come with a 128-page booklet with rare photographs.

DVD:
“The Album Story”
“The Beach”
“Maybe I’m Amazed” (music video)
“Suicide” (from TV special One Hand Clapping)
“Every Night” (live at Concert For The People Of Kampuchea)
“Hot As Sun” (live at Concert For The People Of Kampuchea)
“Junk” (from MTV Unplugged)
“That Would Be Something” (from MTV Unplugged)

In 1958, David Seville's novelty tune, "Witch Doctor" peaks at #1 on Billboard Magazine's music chart and would go on to be the fourth best selling song of the year.

1958, Alan Freed’s Big Beat Show played two shows at the Central High School Auditorium in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The tour featured Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Frankie Lymon, Buddy Holly, The Diamonds, Billy Ford, Danny & The Juniors, The Chantels, Larry Williams, Screaming Jay Hawkins and The Pastels.

In 1967, "This Diamond Ring" by Gary Lewis And The Playboys is certified Gold. Although he will have more Top Twenty hits, this is Lewis' only Gold record.

In 1968, The Broadway Musical Hair opened in New York for its first performance. The show featured songs that would become Rock and Roll standards like "Aquarius / Let the Sunshine In", "Good Morning Starshine", "Easy to Be Hard" and the title song. The production ran for 1,729 performances, finally closing on July 1st, 1972.

In 1973, Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side Of The Moon was at #1 in America, going on to enjoy a record-breaking 741 weeks on the Billboard album chart, eventually selling over 45 million copies worldwide.

In 1975, Tom “Big Daddy” Donahue, the pioneering American disc jockey who wrote the article “AM Radio is Dead and Its Rotting Corpse is Stinking up the Airwaves” for Rolling Stone, died from a heart attack. Donahue was voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, one of only three DJs to receive that honor.

In 1979, Blondie scored their first U.S. #1 single with “Heart of Glass,” also a chart-topper in the U.K.

In 1980, Tommy Caldwell, the bassist and original frontman for The Marshall Tucker Band, died from injuries suffered from a car crash. He was 30 years old.

In 1987 - For the first time, a compact disc of an album was released before its vinyl version. The album was "The Art of Excellence" by Tony Bennett.

R.E.M.'s "Dead Letter Office" was released in the US in 1987.

In 1988, B.W. Stevenson, who had a 1973 hit with "My Maria", died after heart surgery at the age of 38. He also wrote Three Dog Night's 1973 hit "Shambala". The "B.W." reportedly stood for "Buckwheat."

2003 - The iTunes Music Store opened with over 200,000 items to purchase.

2004 - The iTunes Music Store marked its first anniversary with over 70 million songs sold. and vinyl lives on, despite of it!

In 2010, Corrado "Connie" Codarini, an original member of The Four Lads, passed away at the age of 80. The Canadian singing group placed twelve songs in the Billboard Top 40 between 1955 and 1958, including "Moments To Remember", "No, Not Much" and "Standing On The Corner".